Original Reads

Headlined by H7985, a bill that would create a new mandate to punish cities and towns for not advancing a federal agenda, the RI Center forFreedom & Prosperity today updated its list of the BEST and WORST bills of the 2016 General Assembly session.

Sponsored by Reps Morin, Casey, Carson, Phillips, and Maldonado, H7985 would advance the RhodeMapRI and federal "sustainabalism" agenda by fining localities for failing to meet its affordable housing targets (now merely considered a goal), and by creating a system by which such municipalities would pay over-performing others, much a like carbon-credit scheme.

On a broader level, once again General Assembly lawmakers in 2016 are on track to continue a multi-year, negative trend of public policy that will reduce economic justice for Rhode Islanders. This according to the 2016 General Assembly Freedom Index, an interactive, live tool published by the nonpartisan Center.

Also of note, 16 individual lawmakers currently have scores above zero, while in 2015 not a single Representative or Senator earned a positive score.Lawmakers and the public are encouraged to visit the "Legislation" tab on the 2016Freedom Index to determine the bill rankings for the majority of bills that have been rated, but not yet voted on. The "Summary" tab displays individual lawmaker scores.

Summary

​As of March 25, early findings in the 2016 session include:

167 bills are rated negatively, with only 59 bills receiving a positive score, and 3 yet to receive a rating

The negative bills would total a (-260) cumulative score, if all were to be voted on, while the positive bills would produce a +86 score, resulting in a net (-174) overall General Assembly rating

Led by Representative Jared Nunes (D, Coventry) only 16 of 113 lawmakers can currently boast a positive individual score, consisting of 2 Democrats, 12 Republicans, and 2 Independent; with 5 in the Senate and 11 in the House (see Summary tab)

Although not all 2016 bills have received final ratings, it is clear that the few positive pieces of legislation are massively outweighed by the much greater number of negative bills, resulting in a net negative impact, as has occurred in prior years. The Center notes that not all bills have received final reviews and that the public should check back regularly for updated bill ratings and legislator rankings.​Additional resources are available on the main RI Freedom Index page, including a number of online and interactive tools and information for users, with links to scores from prior years: